Gmail service allowed back in Iran

Iranian authorities have restored access to Gmail a week after blocking Google's popular email service.

The Islamic Republic blocked Gmail last week in response to video clips posted on YouTube of an anti-Islam film that set off deadly protests across the Muslim world. YouTube is owned by Google.

The ban sparked a slew of complaints from Internet users and officials in Iran.

On Monday, Mohammad Reza Aghamiri, a member of governmental Internet watchdog committee, told the semiofficial Mehr news agency that authorities have lifted the Gmail ban after resolving technical problems to separate YouTube and Gmail.

As of Monday, YouTube is still blocked, while Gmail is now available

Iran has an estimated 32 million Internet users out of a total population of around 75 million.